The NFL may have to deal with more than a cold winter sun at Super Bowl XLVIII at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. / Al Bello, Getty Images

by Mike Garafolo, USA TODAY Sports

by Mike Garafolo, USA TODAY Sports

From the time the New York/New Jersey contingent made its bid to host the Super Bowl through the NFL's awarding the game to MetLife Stadium, those in charge have taken a wait-and-see approach about the possibility of inclement weather affecting the game.

That stance hasn't changed, despite reports the league is considering its options should a storm hit next year on Sunday, Feb. 2, 2014.

"We expect to play all games, including the Super Bowl, as planned," league spokesman Brian McCarthy said Wednesday in an email to USA TODAY Sports.

"We always have contingency plans for all games and we will be prepared if we have to make adjustments."

The league has moved games in the past because of snow storms and hurricanes. In December 2010, a game between the Philadelphia Eagles and Minnesota Vikings was bumped to a Tuesday night because of snow in Philly.

But the kickoff of a Super Bowl has never had to be changed, largely because the game is played in a warm-weather city or in a dome. As the blizzard Nemo went through the New Jersey area this past week, it made many wonder what will happen if another storm hits East Rutherford, N.J. next year.

The Sports Business Journal and the New York Daily News compounded those thoughts with reports the league would consider moving the game to another day. Sports Business Journal reported the game could be moved up to Saturday, but the Daily News cited a television source saying it would most likely be bumped back into the following week.

Of course, none of this could wind up mattering, and it's not like the league or the Super Bowl host committee (which, by the way, put a snowflake at the center of its logo) would be caught off-guard. That's why they're making contingency plans now. While McCarthy declined to specify what those plans are, it's clear it would take a significant weather event to affect the timing of a Super Bowl kickoff for the first time in history.